She's a four-year-old girl, and people (especially her Dad) insist she's a boy.
Not that she isn't sometimes. She is. But not today! Today she's a girl. And Dad keeps saying that's not true, that God made her body perfect and she shouldn't second-guess God's plan for her. God made her a boy, so she's supposed to be a boy. And on the one hand that kinda makes sense. God doesn't make mistakes, right? So if she were really a girl sometimes, then she'd... what? Her body would change, she guesses. But on the other hand, she knows she's a girl. She's a girl with a peepee, that's obvious. She'd prefer not having a peepee when she's a girl, but it's not the worst thing ever. And if God doesn't make mistakes, God also didn't make her feel like a girl sometimes on accident, right? It must be part of His (because God is always a He, even though God made everyone, boys and girls, in His image, he's always a He, Dad says) plan.
She tells Dad that, today, and Dad gets angry, and yells at her, and she doesn't know why he's yelling. It makes sense to her! But he won't explain why she's wrong, he's just yelling, Dad's so mean, she hates him, and she's not crying, shut up, you're crying!
And now Mum's coming and she's talking to Dad, and that usually makes Dad stop yelling and go away but he won't stop now and Sadde's angry and afraid and hurt and she's running away. A part of her thinks that it doesn't make much sense to run away, the park is pretty open and she can't really hide anywhere, and she'll have to go back because she'll get hungry (not now, though, she just ate a sandwich).
So she runs until she finds some bushes where she can hide, and she hides there, and she doesn't cry, and she spends a long time not crying. Mum and Dad don't come after her, though, and after she's done not crying she doesn't wipe her eyes and her nose, and she comes out the other way of the bushes she was hiding in.
And she's pretty sure that's not the park.
Mortal and Promise in fairyland
not_from_here
not_from_here
Sadde... is rather surprised by this. She crawls back into the bushes and pokes her head out the side she came from—yep, there's the park, the little playground in the distance where her parents are probably waiting for her. Okay, so at least she can go home.
But she won't, of course. She just found a magic portal, what kind of person finds a magic portal and doesn't go exploring?
(The answer is the kind of person she is not. She is the kind of person who does go exploring.)
But she won't, of course. She just found a magic portal, what kind of person finds a magic portal and doesn't go exploring?
(The answer is the kind of person she is not. She is the kind of person who does go exploring.)
When little children go exploring, others might notice it. In this case, the one who notices it is a three feet tall humanoid with light blue skin, pointed ears, and four pairs of dragonfly-like wings, which he's using to fly somewhere when he does.
He does not make his presence known, and watches the small mortal from afar.
He does not make his presence known, and watches the small mortal from afar.
not_from_here
The small mortal is completely oblivious to the small winged humanoid. She makes sure to memorise all relevant landmarks around her bush (not that there are a whole lot of those, everything's pretty samey around here), and continues walking around slowly.
She finds a bush with some strange berries she's never seen before on it. She isn't hungry, but they sure look tasty, and she didn't get dessert-
She finds a bush with some strange berries she's never seen before on it. She isn't hungry, but they sure look tasty, and she didn't get dessert-
not_from_here
"An angel," she repeats. "Dad says they're God's messengers, but—he never said they were blue."
not_from_here
"Oh," she says. Apparently that was convincing enough evidence as far as she's concerned. "Are all fairies blue?"
not_from_here
"I don't think so, Dad says I ask too many questions for my own good. And adults don't like to answer all my questions. You're nice. What's your name?"